Popular Stories

Local Real Estate

Cars For Sale

MACKAY and Whitsunday residents are preparing to batten down the hatches as tropical cyclone Hamish moves down the coastline with predictions it could hit this region tomorrow night or early Monday morning.

Bureau of Meteorology Queensland deputy regional director Bruce Gunn said Hamish was expected to develop into a category-three cyclone last night.

“Tropical cyclone Hamish is starting to track south, parallel to the coastline on its way to the Whitsundays but it's currently in the north-western Coral Sea and is estimated to be 160km east-northeast of Cooktown and 240km north-northeast of Cairns. Tropical cyclone Hamish is moving about 10km/h and is about 72km from Mackay but is expected to be on the Whitsunday coastline on Sunday night or Monday morning,” he said.

Residents as far south as St Lawrence could be affected by Hamish.

Mackay Regional Council Mayor Col Meng said there were no emergency shelters in the Mackay region but residents need to make sure they were prepared for a cyclone.

“The region has no certified emergency shelters, so it is important every resident has an evacuation plan and somewhere to go in case of an emergency,” he said.

“Everyone should prepare an emergency kit and anyone with special needs, such as oxygen and dialysis or those who are housebound or wheelchair-reliant, should call 1300 622 529 and register with council now.

“Keep emergency phone numbers handy and listen to your local radio station for information. A copy of council's Emergency Action Guide and a DVD titled Be Cyclone Smart can be downloaded from the website or residents can pick up a hard copy from any of council's customer service centres.”